It’s not “Sloprano.” We can talk about “Sloprano” another time. I probably will talk about “Sloprano” in the future, beyond just the obligatory discussion in the proper review. But having not even discussed any of Robin Beanland’s work in one of these music spotlights yet, I really think I owe it to the guy to talk about one of the catchiest and most memorable pieces in his prestigious and varied catalog.

When Crystal Dynamics was working on the Looney Tunes parody level of Gex: Enter the Gecko, I can only imagine what they would have given for a piece like the one for Windy, the central hub world of Conker’s Bad Fur Day. I know I love the word “jaunty” for the tracks in these upbeat platformers and Rareware titles, but it’s too perfect a description for what we have here. Bouncy, major-key, melody-driven work perfect for walk cycles in pre-war Disney cartoons. Ones where everything on screen including the sun have a big grin and salad plates for eyes. The instrumentation of trumpet, oboe, and what sounds almost like penny-whistle at times is clearly deliberate in recreating this classic vibe of Merrie Melodies and other music-heavy animation, particularly in a game that goes full Itchy and Scratchy in its execution, subverting it with copious amounts of gore and viscera, et. al. As a matter of fact, I can imagine “Windy and Co.” in particular as being one of the least-altered pieces of music or assets from the original development period, when we were still getting an E-rated title called Twelve Tales instead of one covered in content warnings.

Much like his co-worker, fellow Rare composer Grant Kirkhope, Beanland’s approach to “Windy and Co.” as an overworld track, one you’ll be hearing extensively in the early parts of the game, uses much more than a simple two or three minute track to be repeated. Similar to the theme of Gruntilda’s Lair in Banjo-Kazooie, the key to “Windy and Co.” is how it repeats in different instrumentation to suit the area you’re currently in. Shifts in the timbre of the lead instrument such as the buzzing of bees when near the large beehive area or banjo in the vicinity of Barn Boys, coupled with the unshakeable earworm melody make a nine-minute odyssey of listening to the track straight through seem like only a few moments because of the nonchalance of it all. If Conker himself weren’t walking around with a nasty hangover or interacting with impossibly rude denizens of all kinds, Windy as a whole would be the portrait of quaintness in and of itself.

Though no major changes are really made to the composition for the 2005 Xbox port, Conker’s OST does benefit greatly from the better audio quality available on an Xbox disc. Check out this updated version for a proper performance of “Windy and Co.” where the quality really comes through in the brass right off the bat. It’s about as good as any recorded performance you’re going to hear without the ability to switch instruments right in the middle.

Pictured above: a selection of gifs perfectly appropriate to set your listen of “Windy and Co.” to.